The Legend of DraGarde

                                                    1

“As I gaze upon the man holding the shadow like weapon, the sword, as black as the night itself. I realize that we should have never come to this place.”

   DraGarde, a name I will never forget. A name that would soon change my life in a way I never thought possible. You see, I live in a small town named Aria. It’s peaceful here. A lush forest lies beyond here, because of that we don’t get too many visitors. It’s the kind of place where everyone knows each other. I’ve lived here my entire life.

   “Leon! Leon!! Get over here!” I hear a commanding voice in the background “Leon, show me the results of your training”

   The person that gives the order is my old friend Alura. Alura has always been an energetic person ever since we were kids but a true tomboy at heart. She’s also an expert in swordplay the best in Aria, there is no person I trust and respect more with a weapon then her. Don’t get the wrong idea Alura is a very pretty girl but I’ve never looked at her that way.She throws me a wooden sword

     “I hope you’re ready, I won’t be holding back”

   Alura says it with such malice in her voice that I know it’s going to be a hard session.I’ve been training with Alura for a few months to sharpen my fighting skills.

     “Prepare yourself!” Alura yells, she lunges toward me effectively catching me off guard with little time to react I try my best to parry her attack.

   The power behind the attack is amazing; I guess I was being too kind when I described her. I have no idea why I’m so surprised though, when Alura is fighting nothing can distract her. It’s like being in the ring with a seasoned gladiator.

   I have enough strength to fend off the attack and create some space.Alura starts laughing then says

     “Pretty good, I was just making sure you were awake over there.”

   Easy for her to say when she lunges at me like a predator catching its prey. I dash toward her preparing to thrust my weapon. Alura then puts on a serious face successfully parrying my attack then follows up with a riposte striking me in my lower abdomen all in one seamless motion. I turn around in pain looking dumbfounded.

     “Man that was fast! So that’s how you’re going to fight huh!?” I say noticing laughter at my expense.

     “Of course, I'm not just going let you hit me. This is a sparring session, besides you should know better not to attack me head on Leon. You're always telling me that you have something to prove well can you prove it!?”

   Alura runs, her movements are like a blur, she moves with such grace that the untrained eye would swear that she had a doppelganger alongside her. Firmly gripping my weapon I watch her approach me, we trade small attacks. I’m desperate to land a blow just to prove a point. When I attempt three attacks she lands six, I know I’m out of my league but I continue.

     “Heh, it looks like your finally getting serious but I still have the advantage!”

   She says so in a confident tone. I decide to give it one more go, I run at her with the intention of ending the contest. I swing the wooden weapon full force in a rightward arc Alura swings her sword up forcing my arm upward then counter attacks with a full kick to the gut knocking me on ground.

     “Come on Leon, you can’t be serious with attack can you? Your attacks are too messy and wild. You made that way too easy for me. Let’s call it a day”

   In shame, I agree. She helps me up then we both laugh it off and walk off.And that’s how it was between us, I called it training, but for Alura I’m sure it was just a way to blow off some steam. No one wanted to admit it out loud but most of the guys in town, hell, all the guys were most certainly jealous of Alura’s skill.

     “Hey Leon? You know the Aria Festival is coming up next week right?”

The Aria festival was just a get together that the town did every year. Food, games, the usual festivities involved in that kind of thing.

     “Yeah I remember. I'm hoping that everyone can just have a good time this year instead of showboating and starting fights” I reply

     “I'm pretty sure that was a shot at me but whatever. The reason I brought it up is because we are in need of quality firewood. I've been tasked with finding some in the forest would you accompany me later? ”

    “Wow is Alura the great asking for my protection?” I say so expecting to get a guaranteed comeback.

     “Ha-ha you wish! With those moves back there I might as well do myself in if you’re protecting me. You know how the forest can be, only a half brained fool would venture those woods without the proper tools”

   Besides the critical hit to my self-esteem, she’s right. The Aria Forest is a pretty big territory and because of this it's not uncommon to have unwelcomed guests in the forest so I understand her concern.

     “Yeah, I’ll come. It’s not like I’m doing anything later. I haven't been to the forest in a while lately anyway it should be nice.”

     “OK prepare your gear, we’ll head out at noon.” Alura says that and walks in the direction of her home but not before tagging me one last time in the back of the head with the wooden weapon.

     “I’ll get you back! “ I yell, I’m supposed to head off with Alura later so I decide to take her advice and head back home and get some rest. When I awake, I can hear Alura yelling from the outside telling me to hurry.

   I gather my gear and grab my sword. As I step outside and see Alura with almost no gear, I swear it looked like I was commanding a small army compared to her. She did have one thing that takes my breath away every time I see it. Maxite, The Red Dragon. A black and red hand-and-a-half katana with a golden dragon carved down the middle.

   There is a funny story on how she received that blade; it was about three years ago some drunk bastard came through Aria declaring himself the best Swordsman in the land.

   He dared anyone to challenge him. When Alura took him up on his offer he laughed his head off.As he looked around, he noticed he was the only one celebrating. The rest of the town knew of Aluras skill even at seventeen.

   The man demanded to see Aluras weapon but she proclaimed that she did not own one which was the truth. The man seeing and hearing this took a sword from his waist and throw it to her. I’ll never forget the name “Maxite The Red Dragon” that’s what the man called it.

   Taking the sword the two clashed, Alura was an exceptional fighter. The funny thing is the man’s boasting was backed up as he bested Alura.

   He was however, so heavily impressed that she kept up with him that he allowed her to keep the blade and said

     “Kid you show some promise, take that sword and wear it proudly. When the time is right, you have earned yourself a rematch. Where wewill duel to see who the best swordsman in the land truly is.”

   Every time I think about it, I realize how drunk that man was to give up such a fine work of art.

     “Come on, it’s already late enough. I want to be back before nightfall” I agree with Alura and we make our way for the forest.